Paramore Stream Thumping New Single, ‘Now’

Even though singer Hayley Williams was born at the end of the decade, 1980s new wave appears to have heavily inspired Paramore during the sessions for their upcoming self-titled album (due April 9).
The first proof is in the just-released single, “Now,” which the trio began streaming on their official website late Monday night. With a mix of Gwen Stefani-like spoken/sung vocals, lean and mean, driving rhythm track and wailing lyrics, “Lost the battle/Won the war/Bringing my sinking ship back to the shore,” the song’s chorus explodes with the soaring pledge, “If there’s a future we want it now.”

In a note to fans in December, Paramore said the gothy ska track felt like the perfect way to return on their fourth album.

“It just feels like the perfect way to start this new journey we are embarking on not only as a band but as a movement,” they said about their first effort since a difficult parting of ways
with Josh and Zac Farro in late 2010. “To show people that you can lose battles but come back and win full on wars. You can rise from ashes. You can make something out of even less than nothing. The only thing you have to do is keep moving forward!”

The urgency of “Now” harkens back to the band’s 2005 debut, All We Know Is Falling, but the mixing of Williams’ voice with those of guitarist Taylor York and drummer Jeremy Davis signals a new direction for the band.

The follow-up to 2009’s Brand New Eyes was produced by Justin Meldal-Johnsen, former bassist for Beck and Nine Inch Nails. The group wrapped the video for “Now” last week with director Daniel Cloud Campos.

Paramore’s fans were, of course, super psyched about the new song, with @matttehh tweeting, “OMG sounds so so different but so so good!” and @spfanliz writing simply, “It’s amazing!” Other responses on the band’s official Twitter page ranged from the more sedate “Awesome!” from @LivingParamore to “OMG” from @calderonesuxx.

In a recent interview with England’s NME, Williams said the new disc, the band’s first as a trio, was influenced by everything from acclaimed British avant rock act Alt-J as well as lots of Reagan-era music. “Taylor [York, guitarist] was listening to Alt-J a lot, I was listening to that Sirius XM channel called First Wave every day just getting my gothy vibes on in the car, and Jeremy (Davis, bassist) keeps us well versed in new hip-hop,” she said.

“I’d be lying if I said we didn’t collectively listen to more electronic music during this process than ever before. I think it’s just because that genre is super hot right now. Even so, I wouldn’t say we sound like any of those bands. It sounds more like someone let us loose in a blow up castle full of instruments and we just bounced around it in for a few days.” She clarified, though, that fans should not expect any dubstep on the disc.